Hi Karl, Welcome aboard! You'll find alot of folks here who feel just as you do, in regard to the satisfaction of working on your own car.
I have a '66 Malibu, and am in the process of swapping out the rear end. This is a major step for me, as this is my first time doing this and I'm 35. It's going well though, and if I can get my butt moving a little quicker, the car should be back together by the weekend. You will find this list invaluable- Without these guys, I never would have gotten my '66 back together. Regards, Jim '66 Malibu http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jbiii/my66.htm --- Karl Groves <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hello - > > I've just subscribed to this list, and I want to > introduce myself before I > start posting. > > My name is Karl and I just (as in this afternoon) > purchased a 71 Chevelle. > > I've had fast, (mostly) old cars all my life, > starting with a 70 Camaro when > I was in high school. > > I've also had a 77 Z/28 and 76 Stingray. > > I had a son in 98 and the (now ex) wife pressured me > into getting rid of my > Z/28 and get a minivan needless to say, things > didn't last very long with > her. > > Since 1998, I've been driving more "practical" > vehicles and my living > arrangements weren't really conducive to having an > old car to work on. > > The (new) wife and I bought a house a few months ago > and, thanks to the side > money I've been earning making web sites, I've been > able to afford a project > car. > > The Chevelle I just bought was owned by the neighbor > of my babysitter. The > guy's had it since 2001 and "always planned on > working on it" but never did. > > It is somewhat of a basket case. There's rust in all > the stereotypical > places, the interior is a mess, they tried putting > on a cowl induction scoop > with pop rivets, and all sorts of small issues. > > The two main problems are the roof is completely > rusted underneath the vinyl > top. The whole roof will need to be transplanted. > The second issue is the > steering column must be completely screwed up, > because you basically have to > "hot wire" the car to drive it. > > For the price I paid, I'm psyched to have it. The > point, to me, of owning > an old car is to work on it. I'm not the kind of > guy who wants to have the > car already done for him. To me, the joy comes from > knowing I'm eventually > going to touch every nut and bolt on this car. > > I plan on doing the "resto-rod" thing - making it > look mostly stock, except > for a few upgrades to the interior such as seats and > dash stuff. > > All best are off for the drive train, suspension, > and breaks though. > > > Anyway, enough babbling from me. I'm very glad to > have found this list. > > Last, can someone tell me something about my car > from this VIN? > 136371B202451 > > > Thanks! > > Karl Groves > Master Certified CIW > http://www.karlgroves.com > > > > > > __________________________________________ Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com